


Siren's Lagoon

by magicians_ace



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How about that, M/M, Minor Violence, Slow Burn, but they aren't friends necessarily, hisollumi being hisollumi, illumi is a siren, minor blood, uh trying to kill hisoka to lovers, wouldn't say enemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27334015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicians_ace/pseuds/magicians_ace
Summary: Hisoka has always been fascinated with sirens ever since he saw one in his childhood. Now, 28 years old, he sets out on an expedition to find the long lost dream he hasn't ever been able to let go of. What happens when his dream comes to life when he meets a siren with void black eyes and long black hair that's dead set on killing him?
Relationships: Hisoka & Illumi Zoldyck, Hisoka - Relationship, Hisoka/Illumi Zoldyck
Comments: 14
Kudos: 121





	Siren's Lagoon

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading, feel free to share your thoughts.. it was super fun writing this.

The sea fared beautifully in sailing conditions, much to Hisoka’s pleasure. The sky cerulean, clouds nowhere in the sky overhead him. The sea itself only rocked the boat he stood on slightly, the wind thick with a salt scent. It whips against his fair skin with a grittiness of the sand from the beach not too far away from the port. He didn’t mind the granules of sand in the wind, but he minded his blonde hair sticking together or knotting from it.

He stood at the bow of the boat, looking out to the grand ocean in front of him. Hisoka fixed the small sailor’s hat lopsided on top of his head, turning around to walk the wooden floors; heels clicking with each step he took. Sailors working the masts, cleaning the deck, putting supplies down beneath near the sleeping quarters in the cargo. It’s a proper crew. Most sunburnt from their time at seas or littered with stick and poke tattoos. He didn’t care, he’s just glad that all of his hard work to gain funds to get this crew and boat finally paid off.

“Sir,” a gravelly voice called out to him, catching Hisoka’s attention to turn around to a man shorter than him.

“Yes, captain?” He addresses, not missing the faintest smile against the captain’s lips. As if he’s never met someone with decent enough manners to address him by his proper title.

“We’ll be leaving port in ten minutes, are ya sure you want to head due north towards Beacon Island?” He asks.

The smirk on Hisoka’s face should have alluded to his answer enough. Hisoka’s gold amber eyes narrowing in his smirk, head cocked to the side in a predatory gaze is enough of an answer.

“Positive, captain, unless that’s a problem for you and your crew,” Hisoka challenges, watching the man in front of Adam’s apple bob in a slight gulp; sweat bead forming against his forehead.

“No sir, we’ll head on that way,” he rasps, turning away from Hisoka to make a call to the crew to prepare the sails.

Hisoka’s long pointed nails scratched the underside of his chin as he watched the crew scramble around, standing just a few centimeters out of their way. He’s been looking forward to this his entire life, ever since he could remember.

A six-year-old boy had no place on a ship is what many people told his father. He could get harmed, break something, fall off, or be forgotten when they’d dock at ports. Hisoka wasn’t like other children that many of the crew members were comparing him to. He isn’t ditzy; he doesn’t lack common sense. He’s spent most of his life raised by his father’s side in many expeditions. He’s seen some of the darkest waters in the ocean in pure daylight, peeking down into the inky blackness. Not once has he ever fallen off, not once has he ever gotten in the way, and not once has he ever proved himself a burden.

His father hunted for the rarest finds in the ocean. Things no one has ever seen or would dare to even find. He’s found thirty-foot sharks with saw-like snouts, he’s found a fifty-foot squid that would cling to the side of the boat as he lures them forward with a large net; the boat could touch the water underneath the off-kilter weight. Whales or sharks that rivaled the size have swum underneath the boat, and his father would rival in each expedition.

This new expedition concerned the crew, Hisoka watched the crew reduce to half. Those who stayed didn’t believe in the legend his father sought to find, and the new members he found didn’t either. Beacon Island back then didn’t have a name, it was lored to be the place where sirens would hunt. It’s foggy, the sea is the blackest Hisoka has ever seen, and so sailors named it Siren’s Lagoon. Hisoka’s father believed in sirens, it’s always been his number one hunt, to prove he isn’t insane.

Siren’s Lagoon, or now Beacon Island as it’s more popularly known, is foggy like the tales say. Lanterns were lit all over the ship, even in the brightest time of the afternoon. The sun couldn’t be seen from behind the fog. Hisoka always enjoyed seeing the sky. He always enjoyed seeing the bright blue of it or even the grey with the sun setting behind it hazily. Hisoka laid on his stomach, hands wrapped around the banister of the ship facing the water. The banister had slits at the bottom just against the floor to let any water that washes in from a large wave escape. Hisoka always tilted his head to the side and watched the water-rock against the course of the ship.

The waves were eerily calm, almost still, as if the boat wasn’t treading water. Only the faint sound of water slapping the wood would have hinted at the boat moving. Hisoka watched, hoping to see any fish or even a shark fin. He didn’t expect a head to appear out of the water. Short black hair stuck to the sides of their face with piercing grey eyes, staring straight into his. The whites of its eyes were red, but it lacked emotion. Hisoka knew this is what his father is looking for. The siren, the people who swim in the sea with abnormally beautiful looks. But he’s speechless. He didn’t want his father to see it, to catch it, disturb it, for some reason. Hisoka kept his mouth shut, but he never forgot that siren.

The species stuck with him 22 years later as he stood with the ocean wind filling his nostrils. He grew up a little peculiar compared to how his father had hoped. Once Hisoka turned ten, his father decided he couldn’t keep Hisoka from normal life and sent him to live with his mother in lavish city life. Hisoka picked up on other things besides being out on the sea that he enjoyed much more than that. Fashion is one, dancing is another, magic is another. Combining all three made him popular at nightclubs where he raked in cash.

Fashion is his main aspiration, planning to finally start designing clothes after he lives out his long-lost dream of seeing a siren again. He designed his sailor outfit, a traditional sailor’s uniform cropped with form-fitting pants. He got some strange looks from the crew, but what do they understand about fashion? Nothing, he knows crew member life. Their clothes are never the same shade of clean that they once originally wore.

The port he took off from isn’t far from Beacon Island. He remembers when someone corrected him from calling it Siren’s Lagoon since they made the world’s largest lighthouse there to ward the sirens off. A tourist ploy. He laughs at it still. But it should only be a day’s trip to reach the foggy waters. He already promised the captain they’d anchor outside the foggy water, they wouldn’t take him to the physical island, but he’d take a dingy. The captain laughed, so he’s sure he didn’t believe him, but Hisoka had been training for this since he knew the gravity of the situation.

“Captain!” Hisoka called out, swerving on his heels to walk to the captain.

“Sir?” The captain questioned, watching Hisoka walk towards him, his finger pointing towards the topsail.

“Drop the topsail, cut the trip shorter by about five hours,” he comments nonchalantly, watching the captain’s face morph into surprise.

“What do you know about sailing? You came on here in heels and a half a shirt,” the captain retorts, mildly offended about the blonde giving him advice on his ship.

“It’s called a crop top, cotton and polyester instead of the burlap you wore, and I’ve been on a boat for half my life. I believe I know my way around the ropes, I can do it myself if you’d like, or did you forget who’s funding your expedition and putting bread in your crew’s mouths?” Hisoka’s voice holds a thick tone of arrogance, snide. The captain stifled his disagreements until he turned to the sailor to release the topsail to catch more wind.

As usual, he’s correct. It didn’t take long for the boat to see a heavy blanket of fog in the air a small distance in front of them. Hisoka stood at the bow of the ship most of the time, ignoring the passing comments about him. He didn’t care when his aim was so close to tasting.

“Sir, you said you wanted us to anchor at the wall of fog? Is that correct?” Disbelief cloaks the man’s voice, but Hisoka nodded with a straight face.

His amber eyes didn’t leave the horizon in front of him. He wonders if the beacon of light scared them away, he’d have to get rid of that if that’s the case. It’s an abandoned island since no one dares to travel the waters. Even non-believers, as much as they say they don’t believe, Hisoka sees the fear when it’s mentioned.

“I do recall saying I’d take the dingy,” Hisoka replies, missing the way the shorter’s eyes widen.

“You were serious?” He questions, eyes nearly falling from the sockets as Hisoka chuckles with an amused smile on his lips.

“Does it look like I’m kidding?” Hisoka mumbles, tone teasing with an amused glint in his eyes beneath the afternoon sun.

The captain wasn’t sure how to reply to the teasing tone that somehow felt genuine. Instead, he walked away, going to the other side to prepare the dingy with two oars and a week’s worth of supplies that Hisoka requested.

He watched with anticipation as they got closer until the ship was perfectly stopped in front of the fog. The color of the ocean from a dark comforting blue to a sinister black split in the middle between the cerulean blue sky and the wall of fog. Hisoka grabbed his baggage, climbing in the dingy, and watched it lower along the side of the boat. The captain promised to wait here for the five days, or at least come back to get him by noon.

The water gently rocked the small boat, Hisoka prepared with both oars in his hands rowed forward into the fog. He knew the visibility would drop once the sun left, but as familiar wetness, he dreams of every night sprinkles his skin, and the sun disappears to leave a dark hazy grey cast over the ocean. He underestimated Siren’s Lagoon. His boat became easier to row, pushing through the calm, almost still water. The silence is meant to be eerie, but Hisoka can’t help but find solace in it. Maybe it’s because he’s experienced it once before, or maybe it’s because he wanted to be here again so badly he saved every penny possible he could from dancing to be here.

He never told his father about the siren with grey eyes. He couldn’t break it to his father that he saw the proof he longed for. Every day he wonders why that siren made himself visible to him and no one else. Is it because no one else believed? Were they not looking? Did something not satisfy them to lure them to their deaths in the inky black sea? Hisoka couldn’t be sure, but he’s sure to not tell his father about this expedition, either.

His eyes scanned the sea, only lighting a lantern to keep in the small boat. He couldn’t see the light of the lighthouse from where he was, he had to laugh beneath his breath about it being powerful enough to see through the thick fog until a faint splash silenced him. He glanced around, noticing nothing until he turned his head over his shoulder to see a siren. He turned in the boat to get a better look at the siren.

Fair skin has almost the same tone as Hisoka’s. Long black hair that would probably reach its waist, high cheekbones sunken in, thin lips pursed in a small straight line. Its eyes are pitch black, only the faint light of the lantern showing dimension in them. Hisoka found the siren to be beautiful, regardless of how unique it appeared to be.

“Hello,” he crooned, the siren blinking and cocking its head.

Hand lifting from water, long nails gripping Hisoka’s chin; digging into his skin harshly, but Hisoka isn’t foreign to the feeling of pain.

“You wanted to be found,” a monotonous dulcet tone leaves the siren in front of Hisoka, hand turning his head to get a better look at him.

“I did, I presented myself prettily enough for you, wouldn’t you agree?” Hisoka mumbles, letting out a faint breath once the siren releases his face and slips its hand in the water.

“Humans, a stupid species,” the siren comments offhandedly.

Hisoka braced to lean in closer, smirk lining his lips at the baffled expression the siren inhabited even if it disappeared within a split second.

“You still approached me despite knowing I wanted to be found, I wouldn’t put yourself above me too much,” Hisoka teases.

“I needed to confirm my suspicions. Do you have a wish to die? If so, would you prefer a woman or male?” The long black hair siren recites as if this is normal, happens every day or so.

“I’d prefer you,” Hisoka confirms, watching the siren cock its head.

“Male, then. I won’t be the one to entertain you. I don’t have time for whatever games you’re trying to play,” He comments, voice wavering off.

Hisoka found him interesting, how his voice never wavered a single flicker of emotion. Usually, there’s always a touch of emotion in a voice but this one seemed light, apathetic. Everything is black and white for the siren in front of him. He’s the most uniquely beautiful thing he’s ever seen, and Hisoka would be damned if he let this one slip from his fingers.

“Are you sure? I came all this way to see you,” Hisoka whispers, moving in a little closer only for the siren to push back.

The dark purple tail could be slightly seen when it peeked from the water to push himself back. The tail had a gradient effect from what little Hisoka could make out.

“You mean sirens,” he corrected the blonde, black eyes tracking the smirk on his lips grow.

“I do, what’s your name?” Hisoka is practically laying in the boat as he asks his question, hands holding his chin with a rather interesting look in his gold eyes.

“Not your business,” The siren dismisses, eyes narrowing at Hisoka’s pout.

“I’ll tell you mine, it’s Hisoka,” Hisoka offers.

He missed the sudden speed from where the siren was treading water to the sudden closeness that they were out now. He’s fast, his grip of Hisoka’s face is strong; warm blood trickling down his cheek from the dagger-like nail stabbing into his skin. The siren eyed him, but Hisoka couldn’t tell where he was looking since his pupil and iris blended into the same smooth, void of black. A spike of adrenaline mixed with the inescapable tinge of fear made Hisoka’s hands shake, fingers hesitantly gripping onto the wood.

He couldn’t look away, no matter how hard he tried or the small voice of reasoning begging him to. It’s like a force held his full attention to keep his eyes on him. The siren across from him parted his lips, fangs next to his front teeth resting on his bottom lip as his tongue brushed against the tips. There’s an emotion Hisoka can detect, it makes chills crawl up his spine, but it delighted him despite his fear increasing as seconds pass. Long nails release his face slightly, a forceful grip keeping Hisoka still as the water around them ripples in the slight motion of the siren’s arm dragging against it; fingers dragging his blood against the pale man’s cheek, wiping it across his lips.

“You’re stupider than the other ones,” the black hair male whispers, noses could nudge against one another as he sank further into the water slowly, Hisoka following in suit.

“I can’t be stupid if I’m aware of everything and willingly following you down,” he lies through his teeth, but the siren’s confusion seemed to benefit him.

Hisoka felt entranced by his gaze, but he is aware of everything unlike the lore would say. ‘Victims are forever lost in the siren’s gaze, and only then when they beg to have more of them will you hear their song.’ His father recited it when he read the old books, finger dragging so Hisoka could read along.

“Really?” The mermaid questions, releasing his face, and seemingly the trance broke, but Hisoka held himself there to not fake himself out.

“Really, now tell me your name, I can imagine even sirens have a semblance of manners,” Hisoka teases, only pulling back once the creature in front of him sunk into the water where it rested against the side of his neck.

“Illumi. I will kill you soon,” He says wistfully, a ghost of a smile on his lips before Illumi sunk into the water; black hair disappearing into the black water.

Hisoka would’ve sworn it was an illusion if he didn’t have a gash in his face and the taste of copper in his mouth.

Hisoka made it to Beacon Island without another siren or Illumi approaching him. The water would ripple. He knew something was following him in his rather peaceful rowing trip to the island. The lighthouse isn’t much of a spectacle for something that’s supposed to be a tourist ploy. It’s tall, a standard white and red striped lighthouse, dark wood roofing at the top with a bright white light that barely made its way through the fog. Hisoka had seen the lighthouse once he had to depart from his boat and walk to shore in calf-deep water.

The only good it did is light the beach as he set up his tent and bandage up his face as he gazed into his cracked mirror. Illumi didn’t damage him too badly, only enough to appear as a genuine threat that he succeeded at. He couldn’t stop thinking about the entrancement Illumi had pulled over him. Their eyes gazed together as the allure to follow Illumi into the darkest depths of the ocean seemed more appealing than the alarming sense of fear.

Hisoka’s cool facade could only take him so far, and it tricked Illumi, but if he didn’t fall for it, he’s sure that he would have been dead within a matter of seconds to the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. What’s worse is under the spell he seemed to be locked into. He wouldn’t have minded a bit. He’d happily drown in Illumi’s grip. He needs to build a mental fortitude if he plans to observe Illumi closely.

His dream didn’t entail only seeing a siren, not even catching one, but watching them naturally and understanding their behaviors. Knowing what made them choose a person to feast on and who to ignore, Hisoka wishes so deeply to understand the sirens. Now, when he closes his eyes over the piercing grey eyes, it’s eyes that match the endless black water surrounding him.

The gauze isn’t as itchy as he would have thought when taping it against his face with medical tape, and finally; he emerges from his tent to stare at the dimly lit sea. He sees a familiar face, familiar black eyes gazing at him with an emotionless expression. Hisoka got up from the tent, sliding off his shoes and rolling his pants, cuffing them, and waded into his upper ankles as he watched Illumi swim closer.

He laid on his stomach, and Hisoka could finally see how he looked. His body is lithe but muscular, his arms are strong. His stomach toned along with his back muscles flexing beneath the lighthouse light. His wet black hair covered his shoulders, eyes blinking slowly beneath the weight of his long lashes. His tail started a dark purple, merging into a dark green gradient with a holographic glimmer against each of his scales.

Illumi’s lips didn’t hold a normal pink color. They’re thin, matching the color of his lips with only the lightest shade of pink towards the center of his mouth. Hisoka could see him earlier, but his lantern didn’t provide much light for him to fully soak in the siren’s beauty before him earlier. It’s shocking how beautiful he was, despite looking soulless. Hisoka’s eyes locked onto his, resisting the temptation to step forward to him and comb his fingers through the long locks of black hair. He’s sure the hair would be soft. With a shampoo and condition.

“You were following me,” he quips, watching Illumi’s shoulders shrug.

“You’re my prey,” he states, leaving the answer open-ended as if Hisoka is to understand the dynamic between sirens.

Hisoka’s thin eyebrow raised, arms crossing over one another; hands resting on his toned biceps. He will not question it, not one for asking questions, and Illumi doesn’t look like one to answer questions. Instead, he waded further into the water, waiting for it to rise to his calves. Illumi’s shoulders soak in the calf-length water. So at least now Hisoka knows his limits if Illumi tries to kill him. All he must do is take a few steps back. Hisoka ignored the fabric of his pants soaking in the salt water, the uncomfortable clinginess a second-hand concern as his long fingers lifted the long strand of black hair. It felt soft even when it’s wet; he mused.

“You weren’t subtle,” Hisoka mumbles under his breath as his thumb presses the strand of hair between his fingers; ignoring the water against his skin and Illumi’s predatory gaze.

“Sirens encroach on others’ prey, humans are rare here despite the name change and the poor excuse of a lighthouse,” Illumi’s calm monotonous voice fills Hisoka’s ears, watching the long fingers with dagger-like nails wrap around his wrist.

They felt like knives, now that Hisoka had the time to watch them without worrying about the sudden increase in speed and nearly drowning. They didn’t have the same feeling as nails, not the light smoothness with a dull scratch. It felt like the tip of a knife pressed against the veins on his wrist; lining them, pressing the cold fingertip against the pulsating vein underneath his skin.

“Why don’t you kill me now then?” Hisoka asks bluntly, finally meeting the predatory gaze that honed in on the pulse inside his wrist.

“Perhaps I’m curious why my allure didn’t work on you. You were fully aware, I know you weren’t following me down. I let you think you were pulling one over on me,” Illumi ignores the pout on Hisoka’s lips as he barrels on, “but you were fully aware. In the many men I’ve killed, I held their gaze like that and they’d beg me to be closer. You could tell me you were aware of my trance. Humans aren’t smart, but you’re clever.”

Hisoka didn’t get the time to plan a response as Illumi let go of his wrist to peel off the bandage from his cheek. The black eyes focused on the gauze as he brought it closer to his face, sniffing the bloodstain against the gauze with a faint scowl.

“Your blood smells human, not a mystical property,” he mutters, eyes widening upon Hisoka snatching back the bandage with a tsk.

“I just bandaged my face Illumi, from your injury mind you,” he reprimands, finding faint humor in the growing scowl on the siren’s face.

“It’ll be worse when you die,” his words sounded heavier than before, but it didn’t weigh on Hisoka as he intended to.

Hisoka lifted Illumi’s chin between his index finger and thumb. The grin on his lips irked Illumi, a heat of irritation settling against the back of his neck. Hisoka looks smug, an aura of arrogance surrounding him that Illumi didn’t like, and yet, he liked it at the same time. He’s a challenge, a human who isn’t scared of him. An attractive human at that. An attractive human who sought his kind. Illumi doesn’t put much weight on attraction since looks kill in his world. Although, watching that smug arrogance float around Hisoka made him want to rip his jugular from his neck and kiss over the artery in the same breath.

“Why are you here?” Hisoka pops the question, interrupting Illumi’s gaze on his jugular.

Despite the obvious predatory gaze, Hisoka didn’t show signs of fear. He had no reason to be, Illumi would kill him now if he were here for that and already discussed he will not kill him now. Illumi’s eyes held no emotion, and Hisoka would expect at least a glimmer in annoyance in the black voids of his eyes. It only shows expression when he narrows them, as he is now.

“Didn’t I just tell you?” Illumi snarkily replies, Hisoka shaking his head; blonde strands covering his eyes.

“No, you said you were following me because you needed to mark your prey. I’m asking why you’re here instead of watching me from afar,” Hisoka replied heedlessly, watching Illumi’s mouth close.

Illumi shrugged, looking away to the water, moving it through his fingers. Hisoka paid attention to the details he noticed earlier. His hair on the top of his head is drying, a beautiful shiny black beneath the yellow lighthouse light.

“‘Curiosity killed the spotted trout’, they say,” Illumi mused, Hisoka’s eyebrows raising as a laugh shook his shoulders.

“It’s curiosity killed the cat, Illumi,” Hisoka corrects, Illumi’s eyebrows furrowing as he sinks himself into the water.

“Whatever, I’ll be going now, go bandage up your face or whatever humans do,” Illumi pushed the sand as he moved backward until he could swim, and Hisoka watched him disappear into the water.

Hisoka rose from the water, walking towards the sandy shore and into his tent. If he had looked back, he’d see a pair of black eyes watching him from the water as he zipped up his tent.

A faint wind blew through the thin canvas blouse shirt Hisoka wore as he gazed out to the water. Blonde tufts of hair tucked behind his ear, touching the back of his neck. It’s around noon according to his pocket watch tucked away in the tent, and the sun is nowhere to be seen. His feet sunk into the damp sand, still drying slowly from the previous high tide.

Dinner last night is some rations he brought, breakfast easy oatmeal he could heat over a battery-operated hot plate he brought. He found a waterfall he could shower beneath to get the granules of sand out of his hair and unclog his pores with a natural soap he purchased at the port made from goat’s milk.

He eyed the water to see if he could spot Illumi, and when he couldn’t, he prepared a lantern to tow along with him in the dingy, hopping in after sliding on his sailor shoes. He’s curious about his siren friend if he can call him a friend. He didn’t come here to explore the lush rainforest of Beacon Island to discover a new species of neon-colored bugs that secretes poison.

His oars made headway into the water, pushing out until the beach behind him got lost in the fog. Hisoka waited until he got out far enough, pulling the oars into the boat. Still, there’s no sign of the siren. And with that, he decided he had to lure him out. He has too many questions that can’t afford to go unanswered. Hisoka weighed his three options. He could remove the gauze and set it in the water, but the blood is dried and wouldn’t appease him. He could cut his finger and drip into the water, which is a risk itself since it could trigger bloodlust. Lastly, he could hop in the water and swim himself, which would ruin his favorite shirt and possibly, most likely, get him killed by someone who isn’t Illumi.

Hisoka tried one option at a time, only doing the last option if nothing works. He peeled the gauze off, dropping it into the ocean, and watched it float on the surface of the water until a hand shot from the darkness of the water, stabbing through the gauze. Illumi’s head broke the surface, eyes red from the saltwater as he stared up at Hisoka.

“Good afternoon,” Hisoka greets with a polite smile, leaning his elbows against the thin border of the boat.

“Your blood smells disgusting when it’s dried, next time just call out my name if you’re so desperate to see me,” Illumi comments with nonchalance, a grimace on his lips as he removes the gauze from his nails, disposing of it in Hisoka’s boat.

“Alright,” Hisoka laughs, watching Illumi study him.

“Human-“

“Hisoka,” Hisoka reminds him, Illumi looking at him with an annoyed expression.

“Hisoka, did you come here once before?” Illumi asks, a genuine curiosity cloaking his tone.

Hisoka saw no reason to be dishonest. He nods, hand reaching down to draw small circles into the water that Illumi kept his eyes on. Not in a predatory gaze, but cautious. Hisoka wonders how many sirens are beneath the boat circling them now. How many are waiting for Illumi to make his kill? How many wish to see him too.

“I did when I was six. I’ve been wondering about sirens ever since then. I saw one with wide grey eyes and short black hair that parted in the middle against his forehead. He just looked at me but didn’t bother me or even allure me, just looked. It’s been a gnawing curiosity to learn about all of you ever since,” Hisoka explains, a faint realization dawning against Illumi’s face.

He fell silent though even though Hisoka could tell he had something to say. His eyebrows furrowed together until he gently grips his finger.

“We can’t discuss this here. Far too many prying ears from below. It’s an absurd request I have, but I’d like you to trust me,” Illumi requests, as he puts Hisoka’s finger closer to his mouth.

A questionable look comes across his face as Illumi holds his gaze, now slightly challenging with urgency pressed into it.

“Can you tell me what I’m trusting you with?” his question comes out unsure instead of the teasing tone.

He isn’t scared, but it is an absurd request to trust the thing hunting him. Especially when the thing hunting him shakes his head, refusing an explanation. Hisoka is right about Illumi’s glare at his finger. Watching, waiting, making sure nobody from underneath can strike. If Illumi is telling him to trust him because of prying ears, it’s probably for his protection, Hisoka reasons.

Sirens are known to be manipulative liars. Illumi could see something in Hisoka that he has yet to see in himself. Sirens can read the soul, can understand the human heart to prey upon it. There are many reasons he shouldn’t trust Illumi, and there’s only one reason he should. It’s an absurd request. It is, but Hisoka finds comfort in how Illumi watched his finger and asked for his trust to conceal their conversation from prying ears.

“I’ll trust you,” Hisoka concedes, Illumi’s eyebrows rising.

“Oh, didn’t think you would,” he says, lifting Hisoka’s finger to his mouth.

There isn’t a warning when Illumi sinks his canine fang beneath Hisoka’s skin, breaking the skin. Hisoka hissed, eyes narrowing as a small gush of blood poured against Illumi’s teeth as he briefly sipped the wound until removing his finger. Illumi lifted his finger, repeating the process to break the skin. But now, he presses his finger to Hisoka’s lips.

“Drink it,” he whispers, and to the normal ear, it would be barely audible. Hisoka struggled to hear him.

His fingers wrapped around his wrist, lips parting as his eyes didn’t leave Illumi’s as he sucked against his fingertip. He expected a copper taste like his own blood. Illumi’s blood tasted sweet, like honey, almost too sweet. It held a thicker consistency than Hisoka’s own, like there’s a faint weight on his tongue. Illumi removed his finger, Hisoka watching the wound close after a moment.

“Go to shore, and I’ll be there when you fall asleep,” his voice still the same whisper, and before Hisoka could ask what he meant, Illumi dipped under the water as fast as he came.

Hisoka pushed his boat against the sand near the treeline, just parallel to his tent to avoid high tide. His bare feet trudging into the soft brown sand as he walked to the tent, unzipping it, and wiped his feet off with a spare rag he brought along. Collapsing inside and zipping it, he fumbled for his pocket watch and checked the time. Four in the afternoon. It felt earlier than that.

His mind wanders to Illumi, his last whisper before sinking into the depths below. How could Illumi be there when he falls asleep, he wonders? He already told Illumi he’d trust him, and with nothing else to do, he decided a nap wouldn’t hurt. He took off the shirt, loosening the shorts, and laid out on the thin cot beneath him while pulling on his blanket.

His eyes stared up at the tent that holds minimal transparency. When the sky is black, he can see the stars light up the sky just barely through the dark blue nylon. His eyelids felt heavy as he stares at the fog. Does Illumi tire of seeing fog? Does he know what a bright cerulean blue sky looks like? Or a twinkling star? Could Illumi ever leave? All these unanswered questions battered Hisoka’s brain until he slipped into a tranquil sleep.

It’s a sudden jolt when he wakes, gasping for breath, his hands balled in fists with sand pressed against his palms. A sweat mats his hair to his forehead, and a soft laugh beside him startles him.

Illumi sits beside him, long black hair touching the sand while laying flat against his back. He’s adorned in a black loose fishnet shirt, loose black canvas shorts, and bare feet hidden in a small sand mound.

“How did you get here?” Hisoka startles out, Illumi looking over at him with an amused smile on his lips.

“I told you I’d see you when you fall asleep. I’m in your dream,” Illumi explains, not filling in the open gaps.

Hisoka didn’t need much explanation however when he remembers the exchanging of blood. It must be some link. His heartfelt like it was going to batter out of his rib cage. Eyes closing, he exhaled slowly to relieve himself, reminding himself this is a dream, and he’s safe. Sort of.

“I’ve heard it’s hard on humans for an intruder to appear in their dreams,” Illumi comments, making Hisoka roll his eyes beneath his eyelids, only opening them once he’s relaxed.

“A warning would have been nice,” Hisoka’s eyes watched the water washing against the sand, it moved more in his dream.

He should’ve known this is a dream. The surrounding sky appeared brighter than a dark grey. There are waves in the ocean, the lighthouse is a brighter white; the fog is lifted. It looks like a stormy day on the beach rather than Beacon Island itself.

“I couldn’t warn you, Hisoka. The sirens were below us, listening. I wanted to explain why you’re immune to my allure,” Illumi’s voice trails off, finger drawing circles in the sand lackadaisical, “you already encountered a siren far more powerful than I and whether you know it, you were allured.”

Hisoka stills, turning his head over to Illumi. Had he been allured? He couldn’t have been, nothing happened to him. He didn’t feel a need to drown, and he didn’t feel unsafe, either.

“I felt safe. He couldn’t have used his allure on me,” Hisoka defends, feeling some reason for defending the creature that lived in his dreams for years.

Illumi smiled faintly, nails stabbing into the stand. Albeit unintentionally, but it looked rough, as Hisoka watched him stab into the sand with the daggers he had for nails.

“Sirens aren’t allowed to kill children. Their souls are pure, I’m not sure why you were allured, but when a human encounters a siren with more power than others, their allure isn’t as effective,” Illumi elaborates, but it’s strange to Hisoka.

It felt like it had created a void inside of him. It’s silly. He chastises himself for being so upset, but he felt as if someone had pulled a rug from underneath him. He had admired the grey eyes that peered from the water. Only to have been allured, when he felt as if the siren saw him as an equal. Is that the underlying reason he didn’t tell his father? Is that why he didn’t tell his father now that he’s here on Beacon Island? Was the allure to feel safe? So many unanswered questions and no one could answer them for him.

“Oh,” is all Hisoka can produce, Illumi’s eyebrows raised.

“Did that upset you?” Illumi questions, confusion lacing his words.

Hisoka shrugged, eyes looking away from the stilled fingers in the sand to the crash of waves against the light brown sand.

“He was so captivating. I remember not being able to look away from him, and I imagined all of you to be the same. You live up to the ideas I had in my head about beautiful, dangerous, sirens. I suppose it’s just a little… jarring to know that I was allured,” Hisoka mumbles, the ocean nearly drowning his words, but Illumi’s sharp hearing didn’t miss a beat.

“Humans are easy to mentally manipulate. We all use humans as our pawn. You let me into your dream,” Illumi laughs softly at the end, Hisoka chuckling.

Illumi watched Hisoka chuckle, and he misses the curious expression on his face. Illumi scoots a little closer, long nail dragging along the outline of Hisoka’s smile. The blonde’s eyes looked over at Illumi with a baffled expression as he outlined his lips as he chuckled.

“Have you not seen a genuine laugh before?” Hisoka asks, eyes widening when Illumi shakes his head.

“What’s there to laugh at?” Illumi replies, eyes boring into Hisoka’s, “sirens don’t laugh at much. They’re predatory hungry species. I enjoy being in your dream though, it’s much more relaxing than worrying about a random siren sabotaging my kill,” Illumi sighs, pulling away, shoulder touching Hisoka’s shoulder.

Hisoka’s teeth gently sunk into his inner lip, staring ahead. He thinks back to his questions he thought to himself about Illumi. He probably tires of the fog. He probably has never seen a cerulean sky. He probably can never leave. This concern makes little sense why he cares so much about Illumi’s happiness. The long-haired male just said he wanted to kill him, but Hisoka wants to give him something to remember him by. He won’t be killed by the time he’s done here.

“We can meet in my dreams until I leave,” Hisoka offers, looking over at Illumi who looked at him shocked, slowly blinking a few times.

“Really?” The other asks, and when Hisoka nods he breaks eye contact to stare at the ocean.

“We’ll meet in your dreams then,” Illumi mumbles, “but for now you have to wake up, I have to go,” Illumi whispers as he turns, moving closer and before Hisoka can protest, his fingers closed his eyelids for him, as if he were dead.

Hisoka jolted awake, the sweat glistening on his skin from the light of the lighthouse casting against his skin. It’s darker than before outside, Hisoka assumes it’s night. Clumsily, he reaches for the pocket watch, opening it to see it’s six. It only felt like thirty minutes that he had been with Illumi. He sighs as he sits up, rubbing his eyes, and settles for making himself dinner; using his dirty shirt to wipe his chest of sweat.

Hisoka still felt that void he felt in his dream at the knowledge of the siren he saw alluring him. It hurt. The thing he admired manipulating him. Yet, he wanted to change his dreams so Illumi could see something different from this dreary environment. Illumi had only used his power on him once, it’s not an allure to admire him, it’s an emotion he feels in himself.

It’s not a foreign emotion, the one to make someone else happy. Adoration isn’t something foreign to him. He felt it once when he was spritely at age 20. He met a woman, a beautiful one, a nurse. Her name is Machi, and Hisoka adored her with all his might. Her cold nature only made him want her to warm up to him. She had a kind soul, it’s obvious. She helped anyone, even if they didn’t have a penny in their pocket to pay her. Hisoka would have given her the world if she asked, and he damn near tried.

It was one-sided, and Hisoka didn’t expect her to adore him back. She saw him differently than he saw himself. He’ll never forget when she told him he’ll never be tamed, that the sea is always in his eyes, it’s as mysterious and untamed as he is. She’s looking for someone who isn’t chasing a fantasy, and someone who doesn’t only allow five percent of himself to be explored. She seeks an open book. And Hisoka didn’t fit that. Hisoka always saw himself as open, but then again, there is no one he keeps close to his chest. He only had his father, and now, he isn’t sure where he is. He’s somewhere at sea, and he hasn’t seen him since he’s 10.

Illumi could be different, Hisoka thinks. Illumi matches the sea that Machi saw in Hisoka. They’re two sides of the same token. Different, but the same. Hisoka is always an open-ended question, Illumi is always an open-ended sentence. It’s also silly that Hisoka pretends to know Illumi, assuming they’re two sides of the same token. But it felt like he could understand him. It also felt like Illumi could understand him, unspoken. Or maybe that’s an unspoken trust. Hisoka trusted him blindly, and Illumi trusts Hisoka to not hunt and kill him.

Hisoka scolds himself for being silly enough to pretend that he knows Illumi. It doesn’t hurt to let his mind wander as he eats his dinner, but it is stupid to build a personality for someone who hasn’t let on anything about them. Maybe, while he projects his dream to show a cerulean sky, he could also get Illumi to show his true colors, too.

After he finished dinner, he peered out of the tent into the near pitch-black ocean and sky. The yellow light of the lighthouse doing little to no favors to see far past calf depth of the ocean. He wonders what made Illumi have to leave. Was he in danger? He isn’t sure; he knows that to find out he must sleep.

He zips the tent and lies back down on the thin mattress. His gold eyes are brighter than the black, unforgiving sky he stares at through the nylon.

“Stars,” he whispers, imagining a twinkling veil above him.

Sand pressed against Hisoka’s palms once again as he came to. Not a startling start as before, but it still felt alarming. A chill sending up his spine at the coolness of the wet air surrounding them. Illumi wasn’t looking at him when Hisoka looked over at him, sitting up. His lips parted in awe, and against his eyes, in the black pools, he could see bright twinkling stars reflecting.

The sky above them isn’t cloaked with a dreary fog, but alive and clear with shining stars. He could control his dreams for Illumi to see something new, and it appeared as if it worked.

“What are these?” Illumi asks, lying down against the sand the second Hisoka sat up.

Hisoka laid himself back down, turning away from Illumi to stare at the bright twinkling sky.

“Stars. I missed seeing them,” a little white lie wouldn’t hurt anyone, but he wonders if Illumi knows he did this for him. Not just as an experiment for himself, but to bring him genuine joy.

“Stars? I thought these were myths,” his voice sounds wondrous, enamored with the sky above him.

“No, they’re real. Blue skies and the sun are too,” Hisoka whispers, careful to not disturb the awe and peace between them.

“I’ve always wanted to see them,” Illumi confesses, Hisoka smiles faintly to himself.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Were you okay today?” Hisoka mumbles, cheek turning to rest against the sand.

“Oh, sure. A whale died in our territory,” The wonder and awe left his voice as it returned to a monotonous expression.

It’s an open-ended sentence. For once, Hisoka didn’t need an explanation as he could provide an answer. It took thinking to understand some of Illumi’s sentences, but Hisoka wouldn’t mind it. He asked open-ended questions, leaving people wondering what he could have possibly meant by that, but no one answered. Hisoka could easily answer Illumi’s.

“Ah, a fine meal then, not as good as a filet mignon but nothing is comparable,” He chuckles out quietly, missing the quirk of Illumi’s eyebrow; missing the joke.

“They’re flavorless, especially when they’re dead,” his voice is flat as he speaks, Hisoka laughs more.

Hisoka turned on his side facing Illumi, watching the man next to him turn to mirror him. He has an impassive expression on his face, making Hisoka quiet his laughs to small chuckles.

“A filet mignon would be what a human would be to you,” Hisoka offers as an explanation, Illumi’s face changes to one of understanding.

“Oh,” is all he offers, it seems as if he doesn’t know how to laugh but Hisoka will figure it out.

“Is my soul appealing?” Hisoka blurts, watching Illumi’s lips faintly curl into a smile.

Illumi tips his head back to look at the stars once more. Sand tangling in his long black hair that spreads across the ground beneath him; falling against his shoulders. Illumi brushed the strand away from his cheekbone.

“Very, you’re morally grey. The darker the soul is, they smell sweeter. It’s a toxic sweet, too much of it, and it sits in the back of your mouth for weeks is what it feels like. Innocent souls smell pungent, your nose curls upwards and you want to stay away from it. Morally grey souls, like yours, have the balance of sweet and savory. It’s an enticing meal you want to come back to,” Illumi elaborates, hands moving as he talks, but there’s interest in his tone along with desire as he continues.

Illumi explains the toxic sweetness with vague interest, the pure with a tone of disgust, but pure desire graces the explanation of Hisoka’s soul.

He can imagine the flavor of each soul like a chocolate cake dipped into a pool of fudge. It’d be too sweet. Only a few bites would do. The smell of an alcohol prep pad is what he imagines for a pure soul, a sterile hospital room. Unappetizing, Hisoka’s face curls into a grimace. Morally grey however could be comparable to a filet mignon. A medium-rare steak with a portobello mushroom red wine reduction sauce. A piece of steak smeared into the buttery wine sauce; it’s perfect.

“Do you wish you weren’t a siren?” Hisoka finds himself asking after the moment of comfortable silence.

“What else would I be?” Illumi questions, head turning to look over at him; long hair covering his face.

“Human,” Hisoka mumbles, watching Illumi turn to look at the stars thoughtfully.

Illumi looked nice with a pair of legs, as strange as that thought is. The tail is beautiful with the wide flukes, deep notch. A beautiful gradient in the color, but Illumi looked right as a human. Maybe it’s because Illumi can change his appearance to be on land, to be in his dreams, so Hisoka is more comfortable and not sitting in cool water.

“I don’t know,” he admits, snapping Hisoka from his thoughts, “it must be nice to see the stars every night,” his voice trails into a whisper.

“You can leave the lagoon if you were human and see the world,” Hisoka offers, turning to look at the veil above them.

“I don’t like to think of the impossible, Hisoka. This is the only time I’ll see the world in your dreams, and even then that’s only going to last a week,” Illumi informs, but Hisoka can hear the melancholy in his voice.

Hisoka reached over to gently nudge Illumi, hand brushing against his cool skin. It felt so real, so close to touching. His coldness rivaled his warmth, but he continued to hold his hand gently in his own to give it a faint squeeze. Illumi’s cold eyes turned to meet his, but it slowly faded into black.

His eyes opened to a lighter sky. They felt heavy, like he was up all night and didn’t sleep a wink. Hisoka will never forget the melancholy in Illumi’s voice. There isn’t emotion behind the black eyes he saw before his dream faded to black, but he expected Illumi to slap him for touching him. Hisoka exited the tent, stretching himself out with his eyes closed. Upon opening his eyes he saw Illumi, shoulders sticking out in the water with his wet hair pooling around him in the black water, staring at him.

Hisoka paced along the sand to Illumi, wading into the water to stand in front of him, squatting down to his level with a faint smile.

“Good morning,” he greets, Illumi rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, did you feel me when you touched me?” Illumi cuts to the point, Hisoka’s eyes widening.

Hisoka moved now to place his fingers delicately beneath Illumi’s chin, lifting it to feel the same cool touch against his warm fingers. He looked at his fingers, missing the lightest pink wash against Illumi’s cheeks.

“I suppose I did, you feel cold,” he mumbles, Illumi slapping Hisoka’s hand away and looking down in the water.

“That’s never happened before, usually they felt nothing…” Illumi’s voice trails and suddenly he’s pushing himself back into the water.

“Illumi! Wait!” Hisoka calls out to the siren who’s far away now, a dangerous depth.

“Sleep if you want to see me. I’d like to see a blue sky soon,” Illumi reminds him, and a ghost of a smile appears on his lips before he dips his head beneath the water.

Hisoka scratches the back of his neck as he stands, wading out of the water. It looks like another day of sleeping after a waterfall bath and breakfast, so he sets out his journey to the waterfall; mind full of thoughts. Hisoka felt Illumi in his dream that doesn’t happen. Does that mean something? Illumi isn’t the best at answering open-ended things, but Hisoka would like to know the answer to that. Hisoka knows he feels something for the siren. Could Illumi feel something as well? He isn’t sure.

He isn’t sure about a lot of things outside of a few things. He’s sure about his dream, about seeing a siren and studying it. He’s sure about pursuing fashion once he gets back to the mainland. He isn’t sure about himself, Illumi, and both things together in a fluent thought. Adoration is a feeling Hisoka only felt once, and he didn’t like the feeling.

Would it be nicer to pour a kettle of steaming water into two bowls of oatmeal instead of one? Would it be better to look up and see an empty expression in cool black eyes and pursed lips? Illumi sitting with his legs crossed, one knee propped up to rest a bowl against it with his spoon dipping into the light beige oats, complaining about how he doesn’t like apple cinnamon but prefers banana maple. It makes Hisoka smile to imagine Illumi borrowing one of Hisoka’s shirts, mistaking it for his own, and threatening to change into his clothes as Hisoka teases him by asking doesn’t he have his clothes. Hisoka and Illumi, walking side by side on the beach with footprints in the sand.

Hisoka imagines Illumi wouldn’t like the sand for long, would complain it gets everywhere, and asks for a shower at the end of every day. Long black hair matted down against the center of his spine, soap suds covering the milky skin. At the end of every day, he lies beside Hisoka, letting him braid his hair for faint waves to appear in the straight hair the next morning while they talk about everything and anything. Everything and anything always left in open-ended responses, everything and anything always left for interpretation.

Adoration for Illumi felt different from adoration for Machi. Is it because Illumi liked his company? Took the step to make sure they could be private and Hisoka is somewhat safe? Hisoka ridicules himself for thinking that much into it when it’s been clear from the beginning that he’s only Illumi’s prey. Yet, it felt different from Machi where he waited on her hand and foot but saw nothing in return.

Illumi provided something in return, and he isn’t sure why. Illumi provided entertainment and security for Hisoka, something Hisoka didn’t ask for but hinted at needs. It’s what makes Hisoka walk back to the bed in his tent, lay down, and think of a cerulean sky before falling asleep to see Illumi in the sanctuary of his mind once more.

The sun felt warm. Hisoka underestimates how realistic his dreams are, but maybe it’s Illumi making them feel alive. His eyes blearily blinked open. The sand beneath him felt softer than before. Like it’s fully dry. The sky above him seemed cobalt, only a few fluffy white clouds in the sky that drift in the wind, nearing the egg yolk colored sun. He sits up, turning his head to look at Illumi, who stared at the light green sea that washed against the shore.

“It’s awfully bright,” Illumi murmurs, but Hisoka can see the smile on his lips.

“Yeah, the sun is a burning ball of gas, don’t you know?” Hisoka teases, Illumi lightly slapping his arm.

Hisoka misses the way his smile falters, rubbing his hand as he wearily looks the blonde over with disbelief in his features.

“I thought feeling your skin was a fluke but, did you feel the slap?” Illumi questions; Hisoka’s eyebrow quirking in confusion.

“Would it be bad if I did?” Hisoka parrots the tone, Illumi pausing as he looks down at the light brown sand.

“In a way,” Illumi shrugs, mumbling.

“Then I didn’t,” Hisoka nudges Illumi, chuckling faintly at his eyes narrowing into a glare.

“You’re not funny,” Illumi huffs, and Hisoka saw him lift himself on unsteady feet.

The blonde jumped up, reaching for Illumi’s icy hand to help lift him. Illumi’s eyes were wide, and this time Hisoka saw the faint pink on his cheeks. He didn’t shrug off his hand this time, but held it tighter as he stood. Illumi lowered his hand with Hisoka still pressed against his own, but his eyes were locked on them.

“You’re warm,” Illumi mumbles, as if in awe. As if he’s feeling Hisoka for the first time outside of the brief moments of contact before.

“You’re cold,” Hisoka states, but admittedly, he’s in awe as well.

The adoration is returned, he feels. Maybe Illumi adores his humanity while Hisoka adores him, but whatever he feels is returned. It could be anything, but Hisoka has hope that it’s what he feels since Illumi moved to lace their fingers together. It looks like he’s trying to see how they look together. They look perfect, it’s unfortunate that tomorrow is his last day. Hisoka could look at Illumi’s hand on his own forever if time allowed.

“Walk with me,” Illumi interrupts his thoughts, and slowly they walk; footprints left in the sand, “I don’t know why we can feel each other, it’s never happened before. I’m going to ask around to the other sirens once you wake up, it’s kind of bothering me,” he confesses, Hisoka shrugging.

“I like it. I like you,” Hisoka confesses, Illumi seemingly unphased as he shrugs.

“You’re not too awful,” Illumi keeps his tone nonchalant, making Hisoka chuckle.

“Thanks, I’ll take it as the feeling is mutual,” Hisoka jokes, watching a small smile creep on Illumi’s face as Hisoka squeezes his hand.

“I didn’t say mutual, I said you’re not awful. That isn’t the same thing,” Illumi corrects, but Hisoka can see the smile threatening to show on his lips.

“Whatever you say, Illu,” Hisoka shrugs, missing the faintly surprised expression on Illumi’s face, the light red color tinging them just above his cheekbones, nestling prettily against his lower lash line.

“Illu,” he parrots, “I like that… tell me about yourself, Hisoka,” Illumi asks, catching Hisoka by surprise.

He didn’t think Illumi was genuinely interested, and it was only Hisoka who was interested. Perhaps he missed the obvious signs, like Illumi always promising the next time, keeping him safe, expressing slight vulnerability which for Illumi must have been a lot. Requesting a blue sky or one filled with stars, it’s vulnerability. Maybe, Hisoka misread that Illumi is preying on him, maybe it’s always been mutual interest.

“Well, there isn’t a lot to know despite me being one of the most interesting people on earth,” Hisoka starts, chuckling when Illumi rolls his eyes, “I grew up on the sea until 10, my mother raised me after. People have always considered me strange, but my eccentricities brought me here with a future in fashion,” Hisoka concludes, Illumi’s eyebrows furrowing.

“Fashion?” He asks, Hisoka nodding.

“Creating clothes, I have sketches at home for plenty of designs and I have a plan laid out the second I return. Seeing you, sirens is what I wanted to accomplish first,” Hisoka mumbles, gently squeezing Illumi’s hand.

“You don’t look awful,” Illumi comments, eyeing Hisoka’s apparel up and down, making the blonde laugh softly.

“A compliment wouldn’t kill you, Illu,” Hisoka teases, Illumi cringing faintly.

“I’m afraid it would,” Illumi sighs but smiling faintly after as Hisoka laughs.

“What’s human life like?” Illumi asks, his voice infinitely softer after Hisoka’s laughter tones down in volume.

Hisoka isn’t too surprised when the question is asked. It’s more a shock about how quiet Illumi is in asking. As if it’s a question he shouldn’t be asking or is too shy to admit he thought about it. He can’t blame the siren next to him for wondering. Hisoka wonders about what it’s like to be a siren, wonders if they sleep, how do they get along, can they ever leave?

“Human life is interesting. Everyone in human life is independent. They choose their own wills, they choose their own paths, they choose to follow their dreams or not. Money is everything for humans, people aren’t too keen on individuality but those of us who are unique,” Hisoka gestures to himself, “shine through. I have an apartment I miss terribly, but soon when I start my fashion career, I’ll be somewhere better,” a lingering dreaminess takes his tone.

Illumi didn’t look up from the light brown sand their feet imprinted into. He almost looked entranced with the idea. Hisoka briefly wonders which idea entranced him. Most likely the independence. Own wills, own paths, Illumi seemed to like those when Hisoka spoke.

“Sirens don’t have many opportunities. We’re forever bound here by a curse the ancient Greeks kept secret. Our kind can’t ever leave this lagoon. We’re a predatory species, everything here is first come, first serve, the weak die. It’s lonely,” he sounds morose, their walking slowing as Hisoka squeezes his hand in some form of assurance that Illumi seemed to take.

“Although, we do have a very nice cave system down there. I like mine, it has a nicely sculpted place to lie down,” Illumi states very matter of fact, Hisoka chuckles faintly.

“Would you want to be human, Illu? Could it happen?” He asks, Illumi shaking his head, gently swinging their hands.

“It couldn’t happen but being here with you feels very human,” he mumbles faintly, gently holding Hisoka’s hand a little higher as their walking stalls, “I can feel you. That’s never happened before,” he trails, eyebrows furrowing as if remembering that’s a pressing problem.

“What does that mean?” Hisoka finally asks, making Illumi shrug.

“I don’t know. You’re going to wake up now, I have to find out what that means. I’ll see you soon, Hisoka,” Illumi mumbles, hesitantly letting go of Hisoka’s hand, covering it with a face of indifference.

“How do you know when to see me?” Hisoka asks, watching Illumi chuckle.

“Part of our blood mixing is I can feel your shift from awareness to sleep is the easiest way to put it,” Illumi states, Hisoka feeling a sense of comfort.

The feeling of being sucked out of his dream still feels surreal. His eyes watched as the blue sky faded away like broken puzzle pieces, the only thing he can focus on is the pale face in front of him, and the faint unreadable expression in the black eyes in front of him before the dream faded to black.

He blinked slowly, blonde hair matted down against his forehead stuck to his skin with a thick layer of sweat pressing to his skin. He didn’t feel like it was a panic, but he is adjusting to Illumi waking him up for him. He rubbed his eyes, pulling out his pocket watch to stare at the time. It’s just now evening, so he rose to make his dinner; an instant soup.

The day after tomorrow he leaves Siren Lagoon, and he isn’t sure when he’d be coming back. It’s gloomy, the water is eerie, and he gets sand in his hair every day, but Hisoka doesn’t want to leave. Moreover, he doesn’t want to leave Illumi. Part of him wonders if sharing a dream with him is part of his allure, but Hisoka feels in his heart that it isn’t his allure. He knew when Illumi was using his power, and he felt captivated by everything he was doing. Wouldn’t he know the difference between this and Illumi’s allure?

Even now, as he’s rushing to eat his soup and rushing to prepare for the evening by taking a quick jog to the waterfall, he liked to bathe beneath; he knows he’s rushing to go back to sleep and see Illumi. Illumi opened up to him, even if everything he said appeared as a nonchalant passing comment. It’s vulnerable for Illumi to comment on anything besides how he presents himself, in Hisoka’s opinion. He adores Illumi. Hisoka has an inkling of minuscule hope that it’s the same in return.

With a full stomach and freshly bathed, he’s careful to not track sand into his tent. The sky outside is just a shade darker than before. He changes into new sleepwear, tucking himself into his makeshift bed. What does he want to show Illumi tonight, he wonders to himself. A beautiful display of stars, mixed with a light purple-brown color he’s only seen once in his life. His last month at sea he saw stars of different colors swirling together to form a beautiful belt of caramel with light purple flecks in the inky sky above him. The image in mind came to life beneath his eyelids, waiting for sleep to take him. The feeling of sleep washed over him in a matter of minutes.

It didn’t feel like a normal dream. Hisoka notices now, staring into an unforgiving, lonely blackness. He would raise his hand to see in front of his face but find he can’t see it. He can’t feel himself. He can’t tell if the palms of his hands are touching one another, but he knows he’s surrounded by suffocating darkness.

“Illumi?” His voice calls out, wincing at the frightened tone his voice takes on.

Nothing replies, his voice doesn’t feel like it’s real either. He can hear himself, but it sounds like he’s in a padded room, talking directly to a sound-absorbing wall in front of him. There’s no echo, there’s no reverb. He feels like he’s locked in a box somehow, yet he has the freedom to walk wherever he’d like. Is this how a dream without Illumi in it would be until the blood passes? Illumi knows he’s sleeping. It feels suffocating without the sight of the wind of the beach hitting his face and Illumi’s wide black eyes staring into his. This is worse than a forever dark beach, this is worse than swimming into the dark abyss of the ocean as he has only once before. At least in that dark ocean, he knew eventually there would be a floor.

Here, he can’t tell how fast he’s moving, if he’s moving at all, where it begins or where it ends. It feels as if he’s shut off to the world around him. It feels like he’s connected to himself while being disconnected all at once. He can’t wake up from it, his body won’t let him escape. He yells for Illumi to come to help him, but he knows Illumi won’t hear him. He can’t even place his own voice and figure out if it’s real. It sounds so two dimensional; he feels two dimensional. He feels like he’s been in here for days. He feels stuck, and pain comes across him repeatedly as he exists in this loneliness. Why didn’t he come?

A jolting breath wakes Hisoka, eyes wide as he sits up with his heart hammering in his chest. His entire body is covered in sweat from head to toe as he sits up quickly. His fingers touch the blankets as if searching for their comforting texture, then moving to graze his fingers along his arm to see if he feels real. A shaky sigh of relief passes his lips once he realizes he escaped his nightmare.

He takes a few moments to regroup, but once he does he crawls out of his tent on shaky limbs. Eyes staring at the unforgiving ocean. He half expects the siren to come to apologize to him for not showing up in a blasé way he does everything else but Illumi isn’t there. His black hair isn’t wading in the shoulder-length water. His eyes aren’t watching Hisoka, not in the soft way instead of the predatory gaze he was accustomed to seeing. It only had been a short time that Hisoka noticed the softness of the black eyes, but he found solace in them.

“Illumi!” He calls out to the ocean, watching as he expects anything to come forward.

The ocean is still, there isn’t a sign of life to be seen anywhere as far as Hisoka can tell. He calls out again, this time wading into his calves. Watching, waiting, he sees nothing. He hears nothing besides the wind and the faint splash in the water farther away from that Hisoka can see.

Sadness fills his chest as he stares at the water, aimlessly calling Illumi’s name a few more times until his voice dries. His throat feels like a lump is stuck, he feels like he can’t put into words what it is he’s feeling. It feels like when Machi told him officially that she didn’t return his feelings. That she told him she’s seeing someone now. Some blonde with pep to his step and good in electronics and creates video games or something, he doesn’t remember the guy’s name. Yet this pain feels 100 times worse since he already had the inkling that Machi didn’t feel for Hisoka what he felt for her. Hisoka could’ve sworn that even if it was microscopic or he hid it very well, that Illumi returned some of that adoration.

He sank into the water. Sitting on his knees as he stared into the ocean. Hisoka ignored the chill that sent up his spine from the wind combined with the cool water. It felt so empty; it felt like for the first time in a long time, he lost something meaningful. It comes in second right behind saying goodbye to his father. He’ll never forget begging his dad to let him stay on the sea, holding tight to his thick burlap baggy pants with tears welling in his eyes.

Only then, his father is all he knew. Only then, the boat was his home, and only then did he only know the ways to live the sea. Now, he never experienced someone loving him back. Liking him back. He never experienced that feeling to have someone he wants to spend his every day with. Machi broke his heart, but he knew she wasn’t his one. Illumi however, Hisoka thought that could be his one.

He wandered back to the beach, sitting on the sandy shore. He ignored the water washing beneath him and watched. The only movement he made was to push blonde strands away from his eyes and kept his eyes on the ocean in front of him. He planned to stay put. Hisoka planned to make sure Illumi would come forth, and if he didn’t, he’d take matters into his own hands.

He’s sure the hours passed by as he sat, eventually drawing small shapes into the permanent damp sand beneath him. He sat until there was a damp light reflecting on the sea. He was sure the sky is a shade darker. Hisoka couldn’t wait anymore. It’s a stupid plan, but if he couldn’t make Illumi come to him, he’d go to Illumi.

Hisoka is brave, a little stupid, but his heart has always been in the right place. Hisoka did things most grown men wouldn’t do when he was eight, and it carried out into his adulthood as he wades forward in the water. It passed his knees, slowly rising to his mid-thigh. It felt cold, colder as it got deeper. The lack of warmth from the sun made it impossible for the water to settle into something warm so it didn’t shock Hisoka that it was cold, but he didn’t like how the cold water felt.

It rose to his hips, eventually up to his waist, and finally, he couldn’t touch the floor anymore. Broad strokes weighed down by the clothes soaking wet against his skin, lingering in the water. His pants weighing him down beside the material being light thin linen, matching his blouse shirt. He kept swimming until it reached his neck, wading in place as he searched the water.

The fog made it impossible to see, but Hisoka tried his hardest to search. Listening hard for any sound in the water but all he could hear is his harsh breathing out of fear and his splashing. A cool touch wrapped around his ankle, and before Hisoka could react, he’s pulled down violently into the water. His eyes opened, stinging because of the salt, but found he couldn’t see anything as he waved his arms trying to swim up.

Thoughts were racing at a million miles per hour. It didn’t feel like Illumi’s hand; the hand felt thicker than Illumi’s thinner one, but he couldn’t be sure. Part of him is hoping that this wasn’t his plan to begin with. Illumi’s grandmaster allures to sink him to his death, drowning him in the black oceans. No matter how hard he kicked, he couldn’t shrug off the hand dragging him to his death. It could have been seconds since he was down there, but it felt like minutes as his lungs burned. He could hear a popping noise in his skull and he’s sure he’s going to die. Hisoka is sure he’ll die not having seen the sky for the last time, or Illumi’s eyes.

His body jolts to the right, the hand removing from his ankle because of the jolt. Hisoka pushes himself up as quickly as he can, breaking the surface with a loud gasp of air. Coughing out water that dribbled down his chin, a little warm from his throat. His eyes stung, barely being able to see as he blinked out the saltwater with a harsh rub to his eyes. The second he dropped his hands, he felt an icy hand press hard against his eyes and tilt his head back against a sharp shoulder.

A thumb pressed his carotid artery, pinky, and ring finger on the other side of his neck while the long dagger-like nails pressed gently against his skin. It didn’t feel threatening; it felt territorial, Hisoka tried squirming away but the sound of breaking water on all sides of them alarmed him followed by loud hisses surrounding them.

“He’s mine,” the familiar voice reverberated against his ear, making Hisoka sag faintly in relief.

“You haven’t killed him yet, Illumi. Why is that? If you will not kill him at least let us so we don’t have to starve,” a lighter-toned voice sounded, but the voice had a harsh edge to it. Cold, sinister, dripping with venom and anger.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Any of you. You’re beneath me,” Illumi hissed, tightening the grip of his hand covering his eyes.

“Show his eyes then if we’re all beneath you,” a voice spoke threateningly from Hisoka’s left.

“No, I will kill you all within a matter of seconds if you don’t back off and accept what’s mine. Or did you forget when Pariston stepped out of line? You’re all nothing, you all feast on whale carcass forever. You will not kill him, you will not touch him. Touch him again and instead of the whale carcass we feast on, it’s yours,” Illumi seethes, and it sounds sinister for the first time Hisoka feels a chill listening to him.

Silence fills the water until faint splashes with small curses around them. It’s a few more moments of silence until it’s where Hisoka can hear his breathing again. Illumi’s breath against the shell of his ear as finally, he retracts his hands. Hisoka dipping his head forward, ignoring the dripping water against his face, turning around to see Illumi glaring at him.

“Are you stupid? How dense can you be-” Illumi starts before Hisoka jumps in to cut him off.

“You didn’t come in my dream,” Hisoka pants out, swallowing thickly as Illumi’s face falls.

“I figured out why we touched and felt one another in your dreams, Hisoka,” Illumi mumbles, the remaining anger dissipating, “we need to get you back to shore and I can explain. I already revealed too much for those beneath your feet,” he whispers.

Hisoka nodded, starting to swim only for Illumi to shake his head and grab Hisoka’s wrist.

“Climb on my back. Your clothes will weigh you down,” Illumi mumbles, making Hisoka smile faintly and climb on his back.

“Hold your breath,” Illumi whispers, dipping underwater only when Hisoka takes a deep breath.

It felt like a blur of time passed. It couldn’t have been more than a minute, but the water rushed by Hisoka quickly. He could feel the water pass smoothly across his face, unlike how it felt when he was drowning, which was comparable to glass slicing his skin. Illumi broke the surface shortly, Hisoka blinking the water from his eyes.

He slid off the siren’s back, shakily getting to his feet in knee-deep water. He turned around to Illumi’s, gold eyes facing black ones.

“Can we talk here?” Hisoka asks, Illumi shakes his head.

“I’ll be in your dream, Hisoka,” Illumi promises as if telling Hisoka doubts his words.

Hisoka nods, trudging back up to the beach. He stripped out of his clothes, dropping them on the sand outside his tent, and shivered as he entered it. Hisoka curled underneath the blanket. This time he could easily go to sleep, tired and drained from the day at hand. He didn’t imagine a night sky for Illumi to see; he imagined a result that would make him happy.

The familiar sand beneath his fingers made his eyes blink blearily at a cloudy sky above. His head turning to see Illumi staring down at him, fingernails gently dragging against the slope of his cheekbone.

“You almost died,” Illumi whispers, sadness in his voice.

“I wanted to find you,” Hisoka offers, clearing his throat. He didn’t move to avoid risking Illumi retracting his hand, but it didn’t look like he was going to.

“We can feel one another because we share mutual romantic feelings, Hisoka. I’m a siren, you’re a human, I was meant to kill you. We’re worlds apart, I wanted to cut the bond before it could get worse, and then you’d never see me again,” Illumi whispers once more, almost inaudible.

“Getting rid of me isn’t the answer when I have a better one,” Hisoka mumbles, sitting up and gently gripping Illumi’s hand to keep it pressed to his cheek.

“I’m going to have money, I can come to see you. Spend a weekend out here then share our blood so we can live on a dream,” Hisoka mumbles, and he knows there’s a desperate plea to his voice, but he couldn’t help it.

“You deserve better than that. I tried to kill you. Do you realize that? I don’t know how to love, I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Illumi’s voice is pained but Hisoka cups both his cheeks now.

“I don’t know how to love either, but I think we could do it if we tried. We could teach each other. I adore you, wholeheartedly. I’d rather be lost and make trips out here to the middle of the sea to see you than be with anyone else,” Hisoka whispers, nose nudging gently against Illumi’s in a sign to see if he’d run.

He didn’t run. He looked hopeful, the black eyes in front of him appeared hopeful. Hisoka could only hope that would be all it takes, but Illumi leaned in just a hair closer, breaths hitting against one another’s skin.

“Convince me,” Illumi breathes out.

With little more convincing on Hisoka’s side, he leans in closer to close the distance in a sweet kiss. It’s not his first one, but it is the first one where he’s meant it. Illumi’s first kiss is this one. He’s timid, and it takes Hisoka coaxing him with moving his lips faintly for Illumi to relax and meld into the kiss.

A hesitant grip into the blonde strands of hair, tugging on it gently. Hisoka licked into Illumi’s mouth, tongues gracing against one another. Illumi faintly panted into Hisoka’s mouth, tugging harder and harder on his hair until he broke the kiss. A faint string of saliva connecting between the two as they stared at one another when they briefly pulled back. Eyes gazing into one another’s.

“You convinced me,” Illumi whispered, leaving Hisoka to smile.

Illumi laid on Hisoka’s chest for the duration of the night. Teaching Hisoka how to control his dreams while he’s dreaming to show Illumi a beautiful night’s sky. Hisoka makes promises to show him the world in his dreams. It’s not spent talking as much as it is feeding the starvation one another has for touch.

The situation itself isn’t too complicated. Isoka had plans to move his life into the city he came from. He had a job lined up for him, he could easily make trips out here any weekend he could get the free time for. Being alone on the mainland isn’t anything if he can fall asleep and feel the cool touch of Illumi’s fingers against his cheek. The smooth feel of his lips against his, long soft black tresses brushing through his fingers.

Illumi isn’t complicated if Hisoka ignores his predatory needs, but even then, he doesn’t want to feed off Hisoka anymore. Something satisfies Hisoka knowing that finally, his adoration is met. It’s mutual. Listening to Illumi talk and tell him stories about the sea with a nonchalant tone he takes as he recounts things that shock Hisoka, he can’t help but feel warm on the inside. Hisoka didn’t believe soulmates once upon a time, but he’s sure Illumi is his one. They’ve probably met in different lives before this one, but in this current reality, a little elbow grease can make this work.

They kiss goodbye when it’s time for Hisoka to wake, and when he does, it’s calm. He feels happy; it feels surreal to be this happy. He changes into his last outfit, packing away all his belongings and packs them in the small boat he came in. He felt a pair of eyes watching him, but every time he went to look, there was nobody there. He smiles, knowing it’s Illumi. It isn’t until he pushes the boat in the water and hops in that the pretty siren breaks from the water; chin resting on the wood.

“Can I accompany you as you row?” Illumi asks, making Hisoka chuckle faintly.

“I’d be a little offended if you didn’t,” Hisoka replies, starting in his row as Illumi lies on his back, eyes facing up towards the gloomy sky.

“When we reach the wall, we’ll exchange some more blood. That’ll hold you over for a week and a half counting the blood we already gave,” Illumi comments, Hisoka nodding.

“I’ll miss waking up to see you,” Hisoka mumbles through a scant breath after a strenuous row.

“I enjoyed your company,” Illumi supplies, but Hisoka knows it’s Illumi speak for he’ll miss him.

“I already have a job lined up,” Hisoka looks over to the siren who now hasn’t taken his eyes off his face, “so it won’t be long before I come to see you again,” Hisoka offers as he smiles, watching the faint smile spread across the other’s lips.

“Bring me something you think I’d enjoy next time you come, would you?” Illumi asks, Hisoka smiling.

He already had an idea, he’d bring flowers and set them on the edge of the lighthouse pier so they’ll always be visible underneath the yellow light. Hisoka thought a bouquet of heliotrope and honeysuckles would suit Illumi. Devotions of eternal love are what they’d mean together. Hisoka can explain his soulmate theory the next time he sees him. He’s sure Illumi wouldn’t believe something as conceptual or abstract, but maybe he’d appreciate it.

Maybe Illumi would appreciate being referred to as star-crossed lovers. Hisoka always loved theater, but he never liked Romeo and Juliet. More of a Hamlet guy himself. But he did like the idea of star-crossed lovers, especially since Illumi loves the stars. Maybe one day he’ll buy Illumi a star, and maybe he’ll dream it in a constellation just for his lover to see. Anything is possible in Hisoka’s dreams, and he’d do anything to make Illumi happy.

They approached the wall of fog with a lingering sadness falling over both of them. Illumi peered into the small boat as Hisoka let him take his finger and bite into the skin of his thumb. He drank his blood, pulling back after he had enough, breaking his skin to lift it to Hisoka’s mouth. They didn’t break eye contact throughout the entire process. As if forgetting they’ll see one another later on tonight in his dream. As if worrying they’d forget the way their eyes looked.

Hisoka cupped Illumi’s cheek, nose nudging over his. He felt a smear of water against his skin, but he didn’t mind. Thumb brushing against the slope of his cheekbone; dragging down against his skin. Illumi’s face is so soft, Hisoka notices, even with the grit of water creating drag against the pad of his thumb. Their lips met in a simple sweet kiss, teeth nipping faintly against one another’s lower lips as they pulled back just to create a dull sting to match the swollen lower lip.

“I’ll see you later,” Hisoka promises, Illumi nods and lifts his hands to brush his thumbs against Hisoka’s jawline; one last tug into the blonde strands.

“You better,” Illumi playfully threatens, making them both laugh.

Illumi lets him go, sinking into the water, and watches as Hisoka rows forward. He glimpses over his shoulder to see the black piercing eyes watching him, watching them fade away into the fog as the warmth of the sun blankets him upon exiting on the other side.

A faint sadness tugs at his heart, but he looks forward to knowing he’ll see Illumi in his dreams. He rows towards the large ship just a little away, greeting the crew with a cheery smile and wave as they look at him with surprise. He knows they bet he wouldn’t survive, or if he did, he’d come out half dead. The worst wound he has is a scratch on the side of his face he’s sure will scar, but Hisoka thinks scars are cool, at least.

“How was the sea?” The captain gruffs out after Hisoka boards the ship, putting his belongings by his feet.

“I met a siren, he’s perfect in every way and I can’t wait to see him in my dreams. So drop the sails and make the trip back a quick one, would you?” Hisoka admits, the captain’s face gawking in shock.

Somewhere in Siren’s Lagoon, Illumi sneezes and shivers with the thought someone is talking about him. Another siren chastises him, saying the blonde human probably gave him a cold. Illumi only smiles.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> easter eggs:  
> 1 - the siren hisoka saw in his youth was chrollo.   
> 2 - the siren that tried to drown and kill hisoka was feitan.


End file.
